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Tea
Tea is a plant which has been cultivated on The Land since the time of Connor and Brigid. It is found throughout the tropic zone, and is grown commercially in every village of First Land except South Port. It is also grown in Toobay, Frinn, Tanq, and Woodstockade. Its leaves and buds are harvested to produce a beverage which is also known as tea. Another product of the plant is tea seed oil, which can be used in stir-frying, deep-frying, salad dressing, soap, shampoo, and paint. The term "tea" can sometimes be used for beverages which may not contain any actual tea, but which are similar in nature and method of production. (This includes "wheat tea"- see Terran culture as well as certain medicinal drinks made by apothecaries; though medicinal teas may also be made from actual tea.) Tea is known to exist on Earth, where it is used in even more ways than it is on the Land. All of the Landian uses are based on Terran uses, and have been taught to Landians, beginning with Connor and Brigid, by God or other spirits. There are several varieties of tea (though fewer here than on Earth), based on method of production. Tea leaves or powder made from them is mixed with hot water, either directly of via infusion. It is also common to add ice after brewing tea, to make a cold beverage called "iced tea." Varieties *'Black tea' The name refers to the color of the wilted and oxidized leaves. This is the most commonly produced variety. It is also the strongest in flavor and the highest in caffeine. It may be blended with various ingredients. For example, an oil made from sou'cit is used to produce grey tea, a name derived from a Terran politician named Charles Grey. Another blend of black tea is chai, which technically just means "tea" in one of Earth's languages, but which has come to refer to a mixture of black tea and various spices (such as ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, melegueta, etc.) There is no fixed recipe for chai, so the actual ingredients used are at the discretion of the one making the blend. While black tea or any blend made from it may be drunk plain, it's also common to add milk and/or sugar. Another common flavoring added to hot or iced tea is sou'cit (though this is distinct from grey tea, in which sou'cit oil is mixed with tea leaves well before brewing; of course, sou'cit juice is also different from sou'cit oil). *'Matcha' This is a type of "green tea," which is powdered rather than using crushed leaves. It may be added directly to hot water; it is known that on Earth matcha is used in a specific tea-making ceremony, though this ceremony is not performed on the Land. Matcha can also be used for flavoring ice cream or various confections, such as dango. *'Sencha' This word, on the Land, is used to simply mean "green tea," though on Earth there are many varieties of green tea (sencha being the most common). As opposed to black tea, the leaves used to produce sencha are unwilted and unoxidized. Its flavor is weaker than that of black tea, but it is higher in antioxidants, which have various positive health effects. It is not uncommon to add flavoring from fruits or flowers to sencha. (Such flavorings may include cherry, mango, peach, plum, or sou'cit, as well as oddberry flowers, used to make jasmine tea.) Sencha may itself also be used as an ingredient in soft drinks. *'White tea' The name refers to the color of the fine hairs on the unopened buds of the tea plant. The buds and younger leaves of the plant are used in producing white tea, which are wilted but unoxidized. Like green tea, white tea is high in antioxidants. See also *Coffee *Flora of the Land *Terran culture: Foods and drinks Category:Science Category:Food